Protective clothing, particularly designed for protection of the spine, is well known. All of the devices known today suffer from two principal problems: (1) there is not sufficient flexibility in the protective gear; and (2) the known spine protectors bear directly upon the vertebrae. Thus, an external force is transmitted directly to the vertebrae in spite of the use of large amounts of padding and other materials.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a spine protector which is both strong and flexible and of relatively light weight.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spine protector which when hit with an external force, such as when a bomb technician is thrown back after an explosion onto or against objects close to them, or when an athlete impacts an unyielding object or is impacted by another athlete or an object carried by another athlete, the force is transmitted to the spinal structures on either side of the spinal column rather than to the vertebrae.